


aftermath

by aishiteArtemis



Series: i write aus until i run out of them [7]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Confused Naegi Makoto, Dork Naegi Makoto, He just wants love, I have no self control, M/M, Naegi Makoto is a Ray of Sunshine, Oma Kokichi Needs a Hug, Oma Kokichi-centric, Out of Character Oma Kokichi, POV Oma Kokichi, Rarepair, Sad Oma Kokichi, They/Them Pronouns for Fujisaki Chihiro, and killing games are very stressful, anyone reading these tags will probably have a rollercoaster ride, but you can disagree with me, ceos of being screwed over by detectivez, he is lovely i will fight you, i just realised they talk abt their respective ultimate detectives lol, i mean technically theyre both dead but, i'm hesitant to tag major character death, kokichi and au makoto, maybe? - Freeform, my personal headcanon is that the compulsive lying is kind of a reaction to stress, pls help them hahaha, tagging takes so long, the fact that this tag is not used makes me angry, theyre very cute i love them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29153847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aishiteArtemis/pseuds/aishiteArtemis
Summary: kokichi meets a boy in the afterlife. they bond over squashing jokes.
Relationships: Naegi Makoto/Oma Kokichi
Series: i write aus until i run out of them [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952251
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56
Collections: Quality Fics, best of the best: danganronpa edition





	aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> i came up with this idea and then was like oMG :000 cos it fits up so perfectly i'm very surprised no one's ever done it.
> 
> anyway this is in an au where alter ego doesn't save makoto from execution and he gets squashed.

One moment Kokichi is lying on the hydraulic press, shivering as the metal comes down, just an inch away from his face, and the next it's all gone. Everything seems to go black all of a sudden, and for a moment he is scared. Scared that death is nothing but blackness, blackness like this forever.

But a few seconds later he begins to see some light in his vision, and just as it becomes completely white, he feels himself fall for a moment, landing on something soft. Grass, he deduces. 

Kokichi opens his eyes to see a large garden, seeming to stretch on for miles and miles. Trees with strange flowers on them are dotted around, and in the distance he can see the figures of people. Unfamiliar, somewhat. 

He rubs his eyes. Surely he of all people can't be in a place as nice as this.

But when he takes his hands away from his eyes, nothing has changed. The garden stays the same.

Well. Not _entirely_ the same.

Kokichi notices a figure in the distance, which seems to be coming towards him. He doesn't move, instead opting to sit in place and watch the figure approach until they've reached him.

The figure in question turns out to be that of a boy, who looks around his age. A pretty boy, too. He has soft-looking light brown hair and light green eyes, and, surprisingly, also seems to be a similar height to Kokichi. Kokichi's short, and he's never really seen a boy who wasn't much taller than him before.

"Um. Hello," the boy says, giving him an awkward but sweet smile.

"Hi," Kokichi replies. "Do I... know you?"

"I don't _think_ so," he says, looking thoughtful. "You see, I've never seen someone appear before. Apparently you only usually see people arriving here if there's something connecting you to them."

"That's odd, then, as we don't know each other," Kokichi ponders.

"Yeah," the boy nods. "Well, I can remedy that at least. Makoto Naegi, and you?"

The name seems distantly familiar to Kokichi, but he doesn't think about it too much, instead opting to reciprocate Makoto's introduction. "I'm Kokichi Ouma! Nice to meet you, Naegi-kun."

"You too!" Makoto smiles, before offering his hand. It confuses Kokichi for a moment, wondering why he's trying to hold his hand, before he realises he's just trying to help him up. Flushing near-imperceptibly at his own mess-up, he takes the hand and Makoto pulls him up.

"I wonder what it is that we have in common, then," Makoto says, seeming to be thinking. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, how'd you die?"

"Huh? So you're dead too?"

"Yeah, seems like it. This the afterlife, I guess." he shrugs.

"Hm." Kokichi says. "Well, to answer your question, I was crushed by a hydraulic press."

Makoto's eyes widen. "No way! Me too!" He pauses. "Well, it wasn't exactly a hydraulic press, it was more of a scary crusher thing that went like this." (he stomps his foot on the ground) "Yeah. Not too fun. But I guess that's what connects us."

Kokichi is suddenly oddly glad he chose to die by the hydraulic press rather than Maki's poison.

He gives Makoto a wide grin. "I guess we could have our own little club, then." he laughs, half joking.

"It wouldn't be much of a club with only two people," Makoto observes. "But I'm sure we both could hang out together. I mean... If you like, I don't wanna peer pressure you into-"

"That sounds really great. I'd... like to get to know you," Kokichi says. softly.

"Oh!" the other boy replies, seemingly surprised. "Oh wow, that's... great. Yeah. Oh, I sound uninterested, that's not what I mean, honestly, I do really wanna hang out with you, I'm just.."

"Awkward?" asks Kokichi, laughing. "I can see that."

"Yeah," Makoto says, letting out a small laugh himself. "Yeah. Um, anyway... I'll show you around this place if you like. Well, it's pretty much infinite but I'll show you the places I hang around."

"Infinite gardens? Doesn't seem very interesting."

"Oh no, there's other stuff as well..."

-

Time moves strangely in that plane of existence. Whether it's some sort of afterlife or simply an alternate universe of sorts, Kokichi isn't sure whether it's been days, months or years since he met Makoto. Nothing breaks the days up but Makoto's gentle smile. No one needs to sleep or eat, though for a sense of normality they do so every few days.

Makoto spends a lot of time with a girl called Sayaka and a person called Chihiro. He doesn't ever explain where he met them, and Kokichi's fine with that. He's entitled to such secrets. Both of them seem very nice, though Chihiro feels more safe somehow. They're a programmer, and often show him their projects. Kokichi nods along and just feels glad to have a friend.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he tells less and less lies. Funnily enough, as he becomes more comfortable in this place, they just don't feel so natural or needed. Now he's no longer under threat. And it should worry him, having such a part of his personality fade away, but oddly he can't bring himself to care much. He feels more at peace, so it's fine with him.

He and Makoto often sit in a tree near where Kokichi first entered this place and just talk for hours on end. It feels routine and calm and he always enjoys it.

"I wonder if Kirigiri-san is okay," Makoto muses one day. "It's been a fair while since I got here, so she probably survived the game at least. Hopefully defeated the mastermind."

Kokichi raises an eyebrow. "Kirigiri? Didn't you say she's the one who framed you in that last trial? I wouldn't think you'd care about her. Or not wish her dead too."

"Dead? I'd never wish her dead, Ouma-kun," he says, surprised. "I'm sure she had her reasoning. I hope I at least helped her in some way."

Kokichi stares at Makoto, at the lack of anger in his eyes, at the genuine understanding and acceptance, and wishes he could be half the person this boy is. If Kokichi's rotten to the core, Makoto is the antithesis, eternally good and always trying to understand.

Makoto seems to interpret Kokichi's long silence as disappointment, and says, "Ah, I'm sorry. I'm kinda pathetic, honestly."

The purple haired boy takes several long blinks, then puts his hands on Makoto's shoulders. "Don't be sorry. You aren't pathetic in the slightest, okay?"

Makoto inhales sharply, pauses, then just nods. 

They sit in silence for who knows how long. Not entirely comfortable silence, but not quite uncomfortable either.

-

Falling in love with Makoto is far too easy. 

Soft laughter, soft gazes of admiration. Soft hair and soft smiles. Soft voices, soft words, soft Kokichi, made soft by a boy who is like a ray of summer sunshine, like the melody of birdsong on an autumn breeze, like the warmth of the fireplace in the dead of winter and like the sweet rebirth of spring.

How could anyone _not_ fall for him?

It's in the small things, like the way his eyes crinkle at the edges when he laughs, or the way he doesn't take himself too seriously, or the way that he never, ever acts like he's better than anyone. And he's like a miracle, yet he has no idea of it. The way he's always talking about how he is just the most ordinary, average person anyone would ever meet, when he's very clearly so extraordinary, more than anyone Kokichi has ever encountered before. 

It's almost frustrating.

Now, at the point where one is considering writing poetry about someone's eyes is usually the point where you should confess to them.

And there is the rub.

Kokichi Ouma has no idea how to tell someone he loves them.

Sure, he'd had crushes before, but they were all so clearly out of reach. That guy on the television he'd seen when he was younger, a celebrity who wouldn't give him a second glance. His friend's boyfriend, off limits because he isn't a complete scumbag, thank you very much. Shuichi Saihara, someone who very clearly hated him. They'd all been impossible, so he'd never had to worry too much.

But now there is a boy right in front of him, taking over his mind all hours of the day, and he's just within his reach, Kokichi could ask him, if he had the guts.

...He doesn't have the guts.

The thing is, he doesn't want to take the risk. Take the risk that Makoto might be disgusted and leave him alone. 

He doesn't want to be alone. He doesn't want to lose Makoto.

He decides he'll try his best to pretend nothing's up. Just continue his friendship with Makoto. And that's fine with him.

It's... fine.

-

"Snap!" shouts Makoto, throwing down his card. He sits cross legged across from Kokichi, who shakes his head quickly, trying to focus again. Of course Makoto has to set him off balance.

"I can't believe I'm losing," he groans, rolling his eyes.

"I've had a lot of time to practice, Ouma-kun," Makoto smiles. "It does get boring here once in a while. Though I'm never bored when I'm with you."

Kokichi puts the subtle shift in Makoto's gaze down to coincidence. He can't really have been looking at his lips. It's an illusion.

Kokichi sighs with a defeated smile and starts the next round, putting down one of his cards. The game moves quickly, both boys with their eyes fixed intently on the pile of cards. Kokichi throws down a card and a moment too late realises it matches. Makoto is too fast for him, claiming the pile of cards with a slap of his hand and a joyful cry of "Snap!" once again.

He takes the pile of cards and lets out a little laugh, sweet with not even a dash of malice, and it's so beautiful Kokichi thinks he might cry or run away or both. In the end, he chooses neither. His body moves before his brain has time to catch up, and he takes Makoto's hand between both of his.

Makoto's laugh is cut short, and he turns to stare at his friend. "Ou- what are you...?"

For the first time since he was a child, the ultimate supreme leader is lost for words. His mind is blank as a blackboard at the end of the school year. 

Words fail him, so he tries to show his intentions in another way.

He lifts Makoto's hand up to his lips and kisses the back of it lightly, not breaking eye contact. He puts it down carefully, almost as if handling something fragile - no, something precious - and leans forward to give the other boy a soft kiss on the cheek. Then, he sits back on his knees, and puts his hands in front of him.

Stupid. So stupid, why did he do that, he's stupid stupid stupid why did he-

Warm arms around him, holding him close. He feels soft, rhythmic breathing on his neck, feels the other boy's heartbeat.

"I love... I love you too, Kokichi," Makoto whispers, hoarsely, as if he might cry.

Kokichi stills. He sits up. "This must be a dream, then."

Makoto looks up. "Huh?" A pause. "What kind then? A bad one?"

"No," says Kokichi, in a faraway tone. "It's the kind that you wake up from, and then have a cry or stare into the void, because you know however much you try, you'll never be able to get back into it. The kind that you curse the fact you woke up."

Makoto stares at Kokichi for a moment, then balls up his fist and punches Kokichi's arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"It hurt, so it's real, Kokichi." he sighs. "It's real."

Kokichi blinks slowly, then cracks a smile. He isn't quite sure how to contain this overwhelming wave of happiness, so he just kisses Makoto's cheek again, because he's here, he's real and for some reason he loves him back.

He never thought anything good would ever come of him dying, but...

**Author's Note:**

> if i had a million pounds for every time i wrote a fanfic in which the characters are not friends who then proceed to pine after each other for months or years, i'd have absolutely no fckn money :')
> 
> i was gonna put this in my naeouma book but i felt like it needed its own work. also i want my fics to be like 30% of the naeouma tag lol (and im only half joking oops)
> 
> anyways rarepair appreciation (is there a naeouma week? i bet *someone's* come up with the idea)


End file.
